Risk-Off Trade Resumes in Reality Check

Complacency gives way to concern as risk, geopolitical and economic, resurface.

The fissures beneath the surface of the stock market are becoming more apparent.

The standard, ex-post explanations for Wednesday's 1% drop in the broad U.S. stock market -- weaker-than-expected for the ADP employment report and the NAPM services survey, plus more saber-rattling by North Korea -- ring hollow given the spreading signs of weakness that were increasingly evident prior to those headlines.